


lucky to be coming home again

by holtzmannsgilbert



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 20:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7907212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holtzmannsgilbert/pseuds/holtzmannsgilbert
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>holtzbert childhood friends to lovers au because i couldn't help myself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lucky to be coming home again

Erin had been dragged to the park against her will. Even at six years old the brunette was reluctant to play with others and although she could make her own games, they were by no means the sort of thing that other kids would enjoy. She couldn’t play imaginary games and every time her mother invited another child around to play, Erin would spend the time trying to find out if the other kid knew the answers to all of the questions she had (like how the clouds stayed in the sky). Invariably the other child would have about as much of an idea as she did herself, which was no clue whatsoever, and Erin would resign herself to the fact that she would probably never figure out such difficult questions.

But her mother had taken her to the park anyway, telling Erin that it was “too nice outside to be stuck indoors” and that she “should really make some friends; it’s important for development”. Of course the young girl didn’t fully understand what her mother meant by it being important for development, but there was only so much she could do when her mother picked her up and walked her out of the house.

Erin pulled the edges of her skirt down and made her way over to the small climbing frame, giving her mother one last pleading look, just in case she would finally take pity on her. She didn’t though, leaving Erin to attempt the climbing wall that was one of the only ways to the top of the climbing frame. There was a rope ladder as well, but she always managed to get her leg stuck and it always ended in at least one of the other kids at the park laughing at her.

She had almost plucked up the courage to actually place one foot on the climbing wall when a small face poked over the edge. The hands that she had placed on two of the climbing rocks slipped and Erin fell backwards, landing on her backside and furrowing her eyebrows.

“Hey, you’re going the wrong way if you wanna get up here,” the voice said, clearly holding back a laugh.

“You scared me,” was Erin’s reply, her accusatory tone making the other girl slide down the slide and move to stand by her side. She held her hand out and grinned.

“I’m Holtz.” She introduced herself confidently and Erin pulled herself up without taking the blonde girl’s hand. Her parents had always told her to be careful around people she didn’t know. Erin wasn’t sure if they meant other kids by that but she figured it was best to be safe. Plus, she wasn’t very comfortable with people touching her anyway.

“That’s a weird name.”

“It’s my last name,” Holtz replied, playing with the straps on her dungarees and apparently not bothered by her offer to help being ignored. “Kind of. My last name is Holtzmann, so it’s short for that.”

Erin tilted her head, confused. “What’s your actual name then?”

Holtz grimaced and shook her head. “I don’t like it,” she insisted, but sighed when Erin pouted. “It’s Jillian. But my mom and dad call me that when they’re angry at me.”

“Jillian,” Erin muttered, liking the way it felt on her tongue. “It’s pretty.”

Holtz shuffled her feet and shrugged. “What’s your name? And how old are you? I haven’t seen you at the park before.”

“I’m Erin,” she replied, straightening herself up in an attempt to look taller. She wasn’t much smaller than Jillian, but for some reason she felt tiny. “I’m six and I don’t like the park. It’s boring.”

Holtz scoffed. “The park isn’t boring,” she insisted. “You just need to make sure you get to the top first, otherwise the other kids don’t let you play. And I’m six as well!.” 

Erin nodded thoughtfully. “Okay,” she murmured quietly, watching as Holtz scaled the small wall again, almost monkey-like in her movements. Part of her was slightly disappointed that the blonde had left, but there was no way she could join her. She just didn’t have the strength (or the courage) to get up the wall.

“Come up the rope ladder.” Jillian’s voice made Erin jump again and she moved to the bottom of the rope ladder, looking up to where Holtz was knelt.

“I can’t,” she told the other girl. “I’ll get stuck.”

Holtz shook her head and lowered herself to her stomach, reaching out a hand. “No you won’t,” she assured Erin. “I’ll help you.”

Against her better judgement, Erin decided she would try. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed part of the ladder, pulling herself up shakily. As soon as she was on the second rung of the ladder, she took Jillian’s hand that was dangling over the side of the climbing frame and was pulled up, this time to sit next to Holtz on the platform. 

“See,” Holtz said, nudging Erin with her elbow. “I told you you could do it.”

They stayed there for a little while, before Erin’s mother appeared at the bottom of the slide. “Erin it’s time to go,” Elaine said, smiling slightly at the sight of her daughter actually speaking to another person. “Who’s this?”

Holtz perked her head up with a smile. “I’m Holtz,” she said loudly. “I’m Erin’s best friend.”

Erin’s eyes widened at the new piece of information and she glanced at Holtz before looking back to her mother. She had never had a proper friend before, let alone a best friend. But it sounded kind of nice. More normal. So she nodded in agreement and slid down the slide to stand in front of her mother.

“Maybe your friend can come over sometime,” Elaine suggested, surprised at the way the blonde girl’s eyes lit up.

“Really?” Holtz asked, sliding down to stand next to Erin. “Can it be soon? My mom won’t mind.”

Elaine smiled. “Maybe,” she said with a nod. “I’ll have to speak with your mom. Is she here?” When Holtz shook her head, Elaine tilted her head slightly. “Okay, well maybe I’ll see her here another time. Say goodbye Erin.”

Erin went to say goodbye and was cut short when Holtz wrapped her around her waist. “Bye Erin,” she chirped, hardly noticing Erin’s stiffness. Erin muttered a goodbye and followed her mother, shooting glances behind her as they left.

\- - -

Erin went to the park every Saturday and played with Holtz, although ‘playing’ usually consisted of the two of them sat at the top of the climbing frame and talking about what they had done that week (Jillian always had something interesting to tell Erin and she would sit and listen with wide eyes, not really sure if what she was being told was true but not caring either way). Erin would find herself being pushed down the slide at least six times a day which always caught her by surprise, although Jillian would always wait at the rope ladder to pull her back up. They would go to the swings sometimes as well and take it in turns pushing each other. Erin really didn’t have the strength to made much of a difference but Jillian would use her own legs to propel herself, making Erin laugh when she pretended that she was going too fast.

The subject of Holtz visiting Erin’s house came up at least three times whenever they saw each other, but Jillian rarely had a parent with her (she lived close to the park and was allowed to go on her own) and Erin’s mother was firmly against the idea of Jillian just going home with them for a little while, no matter how much the young blonde suggested it. 

Winter came before their playdate did and Erin was stopped from going to the park anymore. Her mother told her that it was too cold and icy for her to play, even when Erin did appear wearing at least three jumpers, a pair of jeans, six pairs of socks, a thick scarf, gloves and a hat that kept falling into her eyes. “What about now?” she squeaked, trying to lift the hat from out of her eyes. “I took daddy’s hat because it looks warmer.”

Looking at her daughter in front of her, finally excited about going outside, Elaine Gilbert couldn’t say no. “Fine,” she laughed, shaking her head when Erin whooped and ran to the front door. “But Jillian might not be there, okay?”

Erin shook her head. “She’ll be there,” she told her mother, not even considering another possibility. “She’s my best friend.” 

Elaine didn’t have the heart to tell Erin that that didn’t mean she would definitely always be there, but she could think of nothing to say. Instead she just took her daughter’s gloved hand and led her outside. They reached the park quicker than they ever had before thanks to Erin almost running the whole way there. Her cheeks were tinted red from the cold when they arrived and the small girl looked around, her face falling as she realised that she was the only one there. She turned to her mother, hat covering her eyebrows and half of her eyes, and frowned deeply, the way she always did when she was about to cry.

“Erin!”

A door slammed shut and before Erin could react she was tackled to the ground by what appeared to be a very small mop of blonde hair. The hat fell completely over Erin’s face and the weight on top of her giggled and pulled it up so that Erin could see Holtz above her, blue eyes wide.

“I didn’t think you were gonna come back,” Holtz told her, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Erin just grunted beneath her, unable to speak because Holtz was still on top of her. “Oh, sorry.” Holtz rolled off of her and pulled Erin to her feet, the corners of her mouth almost touching her ears.

“Aren’t you cold?” Erin asked as she adjusted her many layers, only then noticing that Holtz was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, not exactly the perfect clothing. “You can have some of my clothes if you want.” She went to remove her coat when Holtz shook her head.

“I only live over there.” She pointed to a house on the other side of the road and started walking towards it. “Come with me.” Erin and her mother followed, waiting as Holtz knocked on the door, which was opened by a blonde woman who looked like a taller Holtz. “Mom, this is Erin and Erin’s mom.” Holtz introduced the two of them with a wave of her hand and her mother nodded.

“Jillian hasn’t stopped talking about you,” she said, her eyes flitting from Holtz to Erin before resting on Elaine. “Erin can stay for a little while if you’re okay with it. It might stop Jillian from terrorising the neighbours.” 

“I don’t terrorise the neighbours,” Holtz muttered indignantly. “Billy told me he was stronger than me and I proved him wrong.”

“The boy had a nosebleed, Jillian.”

“The boy had it coming.”

Holtz’s mother raised her eyebrows and the small blonde whispered an apology. Erin just watched the encounter almost in awe before grabbing her mother’s hand. “Please can I stay?” she asked, eyebrows raising so much she almost lost them in the thick hat on her head.

Elaine nodded and the two parents swapped names and numbers in case anything happened. Erin followed Holtz into her house without a second thought, only realising that she wasn’t really sure what to do without her mom once she was gone. Her worry was short-lived, however, as Holtz grabbed her hand and led her upstairs to her room.

Her room consisted of a bed against one wall, beneath a window, a wardrobe, chest of drawers and a desk that was covered in bits of paper. The two of them sat on Jillian’s floor as she got out a load of stuff that they could play with, like pens, paper and a bunch of soft toys. They decided to draw for a little while, but because it was late already, Jillian’s mother soon came upstairs.

“Erin, your mom’s on the phone. Are you ready to go home now?”

Holtz stood up and shook her head. “We haven’t even finished drawing,” she protested, stepping to the side as if to prove her point. “Can’t Erin stay? Oh, WE CAN HAVE A SLEEPOVER!” Both Jillian’s mother and Erin covered their ears at the sudden shouting, although Erin stood up and nodded in agreement.

Thankfully Erin’s mother agreed and dropped off some clothes for overnight and the next day. She made sure to check with Erin again before leaving (Erin had always been impressionable and would agree to all sorts just to avoid some sort of confrontation or for fear of disappointing them), although Erin seemed adamant that she wanted to stay the night. Elaine left after a short while and once they had eaten dinner they went back up to Holtz’s room to finish their drawings. 

It was 7:00 pm before Holtz’s mom told them to get ready for bed and Holtz got changed in the bathroom so that Erin could use her bedroom. The two of them brushed their teeth and Holtz shuffled into bed, throwing one of her pillows down the other end.

“You can sleep at the other end,” she told Erin pulling back the covers and waiting for Erin to climb in. Holtz turned on the lamp that was beside her bed to give them a bit of light once her mother turned off the main light and sat up, facing Erin. “Thanks for sleeping over,” she said quietly, not quite meeting Erin’s gaze. “Nobody ever wants to come round my house. The kids at school think I’m weird.”

Erin tilted her head and thought for a moment. Holtz was weird, there was no doubt about it. But she couldn’t imagine why that would mean that people wouldn’t want to spend time with her or be her friend. Holtz was the very best type of weird. So Erin just shrugged. “Well they’re all stupid then,” was her response, smiling when Jillian’s face lit up. The small blonde rocketed forward and wrapped her arms around Erin’s neck, not at all sure how to articulate her thanks. Something told her that the brunette understood though, because for the first time since they had met, she returned the hug. They pulled apart after a while and Holtz switched off the lamp, the two of them tired enough to go to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> this isn't my best work but i just wanted to get this out there and see if enough people would be interested for me to carry it on. i'm not great at writing young kids so it'll probably get a bit better as they get older and the relationship is more established. 
> 
> i have a ghostbusters/holtzbert tumblr sideblog (holtzmannsgilbert) so come talk to me over there! i could probably use some frequent reminders about this because i'm not great at updating multi-chapter fics. and also any idea you guys have/things you'd like to see in the later chapters are very welcome.


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